THE OLD MAN AND THE BEASTS

The idea for The Old Man and the Beasts was born out of a stimulating conversation reflecting deeply on Africa’s socio-political realities and leadership dilemmas. What began as a social media reflection evolved into a continental literary vision that seeks to gather poetic voices questioning power, corruption, and identity.

The anthology captures the tension between the 'Old Man' symbolizing Africa’s aged beauty, resources, wisdom and memories; and the 'Beasts- the recurring forces of greed, corruption, and decay. Through poetry, this project reimagines Africa’s story, giving voice to both the wounded and the hopeful.

The Old Man stands as a symbol of Africa itself ancient, wise, wounded, and enduring. He is the embodiment of the continent’s long memory: its empires, kingdoms, cultural wealth, intellectual traditions, and spiritual depth. Yet he is also the bearer of scars colonial wounds, political betrayals, economic plunder, and social disillusionment. To understand the Old Man is to confront the contradictions that shape African existence: resilience and exhaustion, history and erasure, abundance and deprivation, promise and delay.

The Old Man itself is a witness to history, and the historical Great Civilizations. From the libraries of Timbuktu to the walls of Benin and many more, whose authority was fractured by colonization. His back is bent not by age alone, but by the weight of centuries of extraction, enslavement, and ideological domination. We remember a time when Africa defined itself, when its languages, philosophies, and governance structures flourished. We do not forget how foreign powers reshaped borders, dismantled systems, and imposed political structures that fractured the cultural landscape. Thus, the Old Man carries both the pride of heritage and the ache of historical distortion.

Today, the Old Man is more challenged by the disillusionment with leadership, a continent trapped in repeating cycles of power mimicry. He has watched the rise of independence-era leaders who promised liberation but fell into the snares of personal ambition, authoritarianism, ethnic manipulation, and corruption. The Old Man has seen the birth of the modern African state, yet he witnesses how colonial power structures survive within new faces how the seat of leadership becomes a beast devouring its own people. He stands in the ruins of political visions that never came to life, longing for leaders who govern with integrity, accountability, and truth.

The Old Man embodies paradox; Africa is rich in natural resources yet suffers from poverty, debt, exploitation, and capital flight. He sees foreign companies extract minerals while local communities sink deeper into deprivation. He watches economic policies designed elsewhere fracture economies at home. The Old Man lives in a house full of gold, yet lacks the means to repair its crumbling walls. He is trapped between abundance and scarcity, a cruel illusion imposed by global power systems that thrive on Africa’s dependence and underdevelopment.

He reflects the suffering of everyday Africans, the mother who walks miles for water, the child learning under a tree, the youth unemployed despite talent, and the families displaced by conflict. He sees societies wrestling with the weight of inequality, trauma, insecurity, and institutional fragility. He listens to the echoes of protests, revolutions, and uprisings calling for dignity. He stands with the millions who still dream of a better continent while confronting the beasts of bad governance, injustice, and structural violence.

The Beast in turn, is the dark, corrosive forces that have crept into and devoured the beauty of Africa’s political space. It is not a single creature but a constellation of destructive impulses corruption, greed, impunity, violence, exploitation, and the hunger for power without accountability. It slithers through the corridors of government, disguising itself as leadership while feeding on public trust. It distorts democracy into a theatre of survival, where elections become rituals of manipulation rather than expressions of collective will.

This Beast has eaten into the continent’s promise, consuming institutions that once held potential for justice, stability, and nation-building. It swallows national wealth, redirects public resources into private pockets, and leaves citizens scavenging for the crumbs of governance. Its claws uproot merit and replace it with nepotism; its teeth tear at the social fabric, creating divisions where unity once existed.

What makes the Beast most dangerous is its ability to regenerate shape-shifting across generations, wearing the faces of liberation heroes turned dictators, technocrats turned looters, and new elites who mimic the old oppressors. It thrives on silence, fear, and systemic decay.

In devouring Africa’s political beauty, the Beast dims hope but through truth, resistance, and imagination, it can be confronted, named, and ultimately caged.